Groupthink: Psychological Studies of Policy Decisions and FiascoesGroupthink - the psychological drive for consensus at any cost that suppresses disagreement and prevents the appraisal of alternatives in cohesive decision-making groups. In the first edition (Victims of groupthink), Iriving L. Janis showed how this phenomenon contributed to some of the major U.S. foreign policy fiascos of recent decades: the Korean War stalemate, the escalation of the Vietnam War, the failure to be prepared for the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the Bay of Pigs blunder. He also examined cases, such as the handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the formulation of the Marshall Plan, where groupthink was avoided. Here, in this revised and expanded edition, Janis applies his hypothesis to the Watergate cover-up, portraying in detail how groupthink helped to put the participants on a disastrous couurse and keep them there. In addition, he presents some fresh ideas on how and why groupthink occurs and offers suggestions for avoiding it. |
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Page 45
The group apparently accepted a kind of taboo against voicing damaging
criticisms. This may have been anotherimportant factor contributing to the group's
tendency to indulge in groupthink. & How could such a norm come into being?
The group apparently accepted a kind of taboo against voicing damaging
criticisms. This may have been anotherimportant factor contributing to the group's
tendency to indulge in groupthink. & How could such a norm come into being?
Page 83
These rationalizations, often based on stereotypes and ideological assumptions
about the enemy that are widely accepted within the government bureaucracy,
contribute to the members' unresponsiveness to impressive information that ...
These rationalizations, often based on stereotypes and ideological assumptions
about the enemy that are widely accepted within the government bureaucracy,
contribute to the members' unresponsiveness to impressive information that ...
Page 246
Social psychological studies indicate that as a member of a group is made to feel
more accepted by the others—a feature that is usually associated with increased
group cohesiveness—he acquires greater freedom to say what he really thinks.
Social psychological studies indicate that as a member of a group is made to feel
more accepted by the others—a feature that is usually associated with increased
group cohesiveness—he acquires greater freedom to say what he really thinks.
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Contents
Or Why the Fortress Slept | 72 |
The Cuban Missile Crisis | 132 |
The Making of the Marshall Plan | 159 |
Copyright | |
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Common terms and phrases
accepted according action administration Admiral advisers alternative American appears asked assumptions attack avoid Bay of Pigs become called Chiefs cohesive Committee concerning consensus consequences continued course cover-up crisis critical Cuba Cuban danger Dean decision decision-making Defense deliberations Department direct discussion effect evidence example Executive expected fact factors feel fiasco forces give going groupthink Haldeman invasion involved issues Japanese Johnson judgment Kennedy leader leading major March meetings military missile moral Nixon norms North objections officers operation participants Pearl Harbor policy-making political position possible present President pressures probably problem procedures proposed questions responsible result risks role says Secretary seems Senator shared social Soviet staff stress strong suggested symptoms of groupthink thinking threat tion transcripts Truman United Vietnam warning Watergate White House
References to this book
Bibliographic information
| Title | Groupthink: Psychological Studies of Policy Decisions and Fiascoes |
| Author | Irving Lester Janis |
| Edition | 2, illustrated, revised |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin, 1982 |
| Original from | the University of California |
| Digitized | 30 Jan 2007 |
| ISBN | 0395317045, 9780395317044 |
| Length | 349 pages |
| Subjects | › Psychology / Social Psychology |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |